Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the San Francisco Giants have acquired Hunter Pence from the Philadelphia Phillies while Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Phillies have traded outfielder Shane Victorino to the Dodgers for right-handers Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin.

Two major deals and the Philadelphia Phillies might not be done just yet.

In dealing Victorino, the Phillies get back a good bullpen arm in Lindblom. The 25-year-old right-hander has a 3.02 ERA and 43/18 K/BB ratio over 47 2/3 innings of relief this season. Martin was the Los Angeles Dodgers first-round pick in 2008 and has maybe the highest ceiling among Dodgers pitching prospects.

Overall, reports are that the Phillies did pretty well in the deal for Victorino.

Tommy Joseph is headed to the Phillies basseball club as part of the Hunter Pence deal, according to CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler. He was the San Francisco Giants’ second-round pick in 2009 and is currently playing at the Double-A level. He played in the Futures Game this season and just turned 21. Pegged as San Francisco’s fifth-best prospect by MLB.com, Joseph hit .260 with 8 HR and 38 RBI at Richmond prior to the proposed deal.

He could eventually replace Carlos Ruiz as the Philadelphia Phillies catcher after the 2013 season.

With the trade deadline just a few hours away, the Arizona Diamondbacks are looking to acquire an ace pitcher.

The Diamondbacks may have discussed a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies involving Cliff Lee and Justin Upton, according to FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal. Felix Hernandez could also be on the D-Backs’ radar. It’s unclear whether either player is available, however. The Mariners front office has been adamant about keeping Hernandez, and Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick recently said there was a good chance Upton will remain with the team through the deadline. CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman checked with Seattle Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, who said he hasn’t changed his mind about trading Hernandez.

The Philadelphia Phillies willingness to trade Cliff Lee, and the Red Sox willingness to deal Josh Beckett shows how much each team wants to restructure their finances, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman. Sherman also notes that the New York Yankees are unlikely to make a big move. Read the rest of this entry »

Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News had the following to say in a recent Q&A:Q “I know you’re a Hall of Famer, but I have you scooped on this one. Since the Reds are designated for the scrap heap they will put Harangatang and A-yo-yo on the trading block. Agree?” — Roger, Louisville, Ky.A “If you tell me to which team and for which players I’ll give you full credit. I assume Harangatang is Aaron Harang and A-yo-yo is Bronson Arroyo? If the Reds nose dive before the July 31 trade deadline it wouldn’t surprise me if one of those is traded for prospects. Harang, Mr. Hard Luck, has struggled to win for two years and Arroyo, indeed, is a yo-yo — up and down, up and down. He, too, could go for good prospects.”
Prior to Roy Halladay’s name surfacing in trade circles, I had mentioned many times that I feel Harang would be a great fit for the Phillies. He already pitches in a bandbox, eats innings like it’s nobody’s business, and has posted incredible numbers considering his home park. Is he Halladay, no, but if he becomes available then he’s not a bad second option. In addition, adding another front line starter to the trade block could only strengthen the Phils’ position in dealing for Halladay. The more guys that become available, the lower the asking price. Basic rules of supply and demand.

Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News has spoken to a source that claims the New York Mets are going to release righthander Tim Redding. Though Redding has been atrocious this year (7.22 ERA), the Phils should sign him to a minor league deal just so they don’t have to face him. Over the past two years, between Washington and New York, Redding has started 6 games against the Phils, going 35 innings with a 2.50 ERA. That includes last year’s opener at Citizen’s Bank Park in which Redding threw 7 shutout innings giving up just 1 hit.

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers may be a dark horse in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes. The Blue Jays apparently have a giant man crush on shortstop prospect Alcides Escobar but likely don’t have the pitching prospects to complete the deal. Another hurdle is that Halladay may not be willing to accept a trade to Milwaukee.

Rosenthal also says that Dodgers manager Joe Torre has “made it clear he wants Roy Halladay.” The problems is that the Jays are insisting on Clayton Kershaw and that is simply not going to happen.

One of the toughest series to call in a while. The Philles come in as an inconsistent team. While they beat the Brewers convincingly, they only scored their runs in three or four innings. The pitching staff has looked really good. There are some key questions regarding the Phillies. Read the rest of this entry »

With the Boston Red Sox winning in the ALDS over the Angels, that locks the Phillies schedule in for the NLCS. And get ready to call out sick on Friday. Thursday night is a normal FOX start time of 8:22 p.m. EST, but on Friday, they’re going to start the game at 4:35 p.m. EST. Mike Gill is having a heart attack trying to figure out why MLB would do this to him.

It makes sense to me. The Phillies are not the story that TV executives are hoping for. It’s not a secret that the bosses at FOX want Manny Ramirez to match up against his old team in Boston. Don’t forget the Nomar angle too, although he’s not really a factor. The worst scenario that TV folks are worried about is a Tampa vs. Philly World Series. Read the rest of this entry »

With the season winding down and some players already starting to pack it in, I’ve decided to come up with an anti-All*Star team. This team is comprised of a player at each position, who has just absolutely sucked this year. They may not be the worst at their position, but they should be so much better. These players have all started more games at their position for their respective teams than any other member of their team. Because I compiled the team this way, So Taguchi didn’t quite make the cut. But I think I may bring him on as the bat boy. So let’s get to the team. I warn you, some of the stats you are about to see are pretty shocking. It is not for the faint of heart baseball fan.